Stanford sophomore Brook Lopez, who two weeks ago was declared academically ineligible for the Cardinal's first nine men's basketball games, now has been suspended from the team indefinitely for missing classes, although he could be reinstated in a week.

Coach Trent Johnson said Thursday Brook Lopez missed two days of classes and one practice this week, which prompted the suspension. Johnson said he will reassess Lopez's situation next Friday, and if Lopez shows sufficient academic progress and meets his obligations he will be allowed to return to the team.

In the meantime, however, the 7-foot Lopez will not be allowed to practice with the team.

At the moment, Brook Lopez is the better pro prospect of the Lopez twins, and he announced last March he would return to Stanford rather than turn pro even though he probably would have been a first-round NBA draft pick.

Because of his return and the return of Stanford's four other starters from last season, the Cardinal are expected to be among the top 25 when the preseason rankings are released.

Two weeks ago, Stanford announced Lopez would be academically ineligible for the fall quarter, which means he will miss the team's first nine games. Coaches fully expected him to be academically eligible by the time Stanford hosts Santa Clara on Dec. 19.

He was allowed to practice with the team while academically ineligible and was with the team when the Cardinal opened preseason practice last Friday.

Johnson thought he needed to take further action with Lopez after this week's unexcused absences. Johnson said he wants to prevent Lopez from losing his academic focus "with so many people whispering in his ear that he's a lottery pick" whenever he turns pro.

As a freshman last year Lopez averaged 12.6 points a game, No. 3 on the team, and was tied for the lead in rebounds, averaging 6.0. His brother Robin averaged 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.